Dewhurst, at Chik-fil-A, predicts he won’t eat crow in U.S. Senate race

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, toting a sack that he said contained a No. 1 chicken sandwich, became the latest Republican to publicly visit Chik-fil-A in solidarity with the company, which saw a backlash (countered by support) after its CEO said he is against gay marriage.

“In Texas, we encourage all entrepreneurs to come in, to invest and create jobs, and to achieve their dreams,” said Dewhurst, adding, “In Texas, we don’t try and be politically correct. We want people to have freedom of their beliefs, freedom of religion.”

Dewhurst pointed out that his record includes passage of a Texas ban on gay marriage.

He is locked in a battle for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate with tea party-backed Ted Cruz, who has sought to portray him as moderate.

“I’m proud of our position in the polls. Our polls have us winning. They’ve had us winning all along. So I feel real good about tomorrow,” Dewhurst said. “Robocalls – I’ve never put much stock into ‘em.”

Cruz, whose campaign said he was spending the day doing broadcast interviews (including Sean Hannity) and didn’t have any public campaign events scheduled, also has expressed confidence in his own chances.

After his Austin stop, Dewhurst headed to campaign with Gov. Rick Perry at a meet-and-greet at a VFW post in San Antonio and in Dallas, where they are scheduled to be joined by former U.S. Senate rivals Craig James and Tom Leppert, the former Dallas mayor.

In Austin, Dewhurst took special aim at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s former chief of staff, for his stand against the remarks by Chik-fil-A’s CEO.

Emanuel “said that he didn’t want to see any more Chik-fil-As in Chicago because it doesn’t represent Chicago values,” Dewhurst said.